Every term, the Institute for International Management (IIM) organises at least one alumni event that allows our current students to meet former students who have successfully navigated the transition from the classroom into the world of business. This term, we had the great pleasure to welcome back four of our graduates from last year. Abhishek Ray (Lloyds Banking Group), Hadiza Adetunmbi (TransPerfect), Rhianna Leslie (Aldi) and Victoria Sedlak (DeltaCapita), shared tips and tricks about how to go about finding your ideal job after graduation.

What was most impressive was to see just how innovative, persistent, and creative our students are when it comes to entering the job market. It was particularly fascinating to see the diversity of approaches to identifying potential employers, securing an interview, and preparing for interviews that Abhishek, Hadiza, Rhianna, and Vicky adopted. There clearly is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach! What works and what does not seems to depend on the norms in any given sector, the organisation’s culture, as well as the personality of the people involved in the recruitment process. In some cases, starting a conversation with your interviewer about ‘Family Guy’ may allow you to create a connection with the people who may employ you…in other sectors or companies, such a relaxed approach may not be the right way to go.

What it all shows us though, is that looking for a job is a very personal processes where every student tries to develop a strategy that fits their own personality as well as the norms and standards in their preferred industry and organisation.

Needless to say, the best way to get started on developing your own job-hunting strategy is to talk to people who have been there themselves. The wealth of experience, tips and tricks that our alumni can share are a tremendous resource for our current students. As IIM gets ready to welcome our 5^th cohort of students, our alumni network has grown and each year we get to hear more diverse and interesting stories about our IIM graduates’ exciting journey in the ‘real world.’

We are looking forward to welcoming more of our dear alumni back to Loughborough University London in the autumn!